As you will recall my beautiful Princess recently had a very nasty eye ulcer and was also diagnosed as having Dry Eye?
Well we went back to visit the vet yesterday and it was initially Good News as her tear production is well up and the ulcer is practically gone! :thmbsup:

Then came the bombshell, Princess has developed Glaucoma in her infected eye, she has a lot of built up pressure in her eye, this is pressing down on her optic nerve and could possibly cost her the sight in this eye. The big problem really is we do not know how long the pressure has been there for. So we were given yet more drops to put in every 3 hours, both my OH and I got up in the night so there would not be a break in the medication and give her the best chance.
I had to take her back to see Ian this morning to see how good a response we are getting in terms of getting the pressure down in her eye. I must state right now I have no idea what a "normal" figure is for the pressure, but yesterday her pressure 53-55 and I am very happy to tell you that this morning it was 31-33, so considerably down thankfully. We are to carry on with this treatment over the weekend and then drop the doses to 4 per day, if her eye starts to redden up again (Pressure increasing) then straight back to the vets for another pressure test. We go back to see Ian on the 14th and will discuss if she needs to be referred to the opthalmolgy clinic for an ultrasound scan at that time!

Princess is Darcy's Momma, I would be delighted if he could qualify for Crufts tomorrow first time out to honour his brave little Momma, that really would be a dream come true!

Will keep you updated on her progress.

debjen

4th August 2007, 11:02 PM

I hope the drops work to keep the pressure low..good luck with Darcy

Cathy T

5th August 2007, 01:28 AM

Oh no Cathryn! So glad the drops seem to be doing their job. And good luck. We'll be thinking about you!!

Cathy Moon

5th August 2007, 12:22 PM

I'm glad her tear production has improved! I hope the eye drops continue to lower her eye pressure. :hug::flwr::xfngr:

Rj Mac

5th August 2007, 04:35 PM

I hope the drops continue to help Cathryn :xfngr:

ppotterfield

5th August 2007, 09:53 PM

Hope all is going well with Princess and that the pressure is at least under control :xfngr: . For our reference, what are the signs and symptoms to watch for with glaucoma? What is the typical age of onset?

Cathryn

5th August 2007, 10:07 PM

Hi!

In all honesty not all Cavalliers are prone to this, according to my vet, Ian, this can onset suddenly and with no apparant reason or, as in Princesses's case, as the result of a bad eye injury/infection. In our case, Princess's original ulcer has now gone, it was a very defined "bubble" in the middle of her eye. This has now gone but her eye remains "milky" in appearance and in the outer pigmentation it was VERY red and sore looking, this is now diminishing as the drops take effect, we can drop the frequency from today, but are watching very closely for an increase in the redness. I must add here that her condition was much aggravated by her, as then undiagnosed, Dry Eye Syndrome, had her tear production been normal then the original injury would never have gotten to an ulcerated state in the first place.

On a happier note when I covered up her "good" eye and my daughter waved her hand across the "bad" eye she did flinch away so we think her sight is maybe still there :xfngr: I will of course keep you updated on her progress, this is a more unusual condition within the breed, but I figure the longer you are within a breed and the more dogs you have then the more variation of illnesses/conditions you will encounter.

Rj Mac

5th August 2007, 10:11 PM

:xfngr: The drops keep helping Cathryn

Caraline

6th August 2007, 10:51 AM

Oh no, it doesn't rain, in pours. I sure hope the drops keep her safe & well. I believe they are very effective in humans, so I hope it is the same with dogs. :xfngr:

Nicki

6th August 2007, 03:14 PM

Oh no Cathryn, so sorry to hear this :(

Big hugs for precious Princess, I really hope the drops work and her eye will soon be back to normal.

sallymum

6th August 2007, 06:18 PM

A big :hug: for princess and you. Hopefully thinks will be ok. Thinking of u both.

Barbara Nixon

6th August 2007, 07:54 PM

I hope she will be ok. I've only just noticed this thread.

According to a Google, pressure over 25 causes a problem, so it looks as though below this is your aim.

Cathryn

6th August 2007, 11:19 PM

Hi!

Well we have reduced the frequency of the drops to 4 times daily as instructed, I am happy to report the eye is less red around the rim and the cloudiness does appear to be diminishing somewhat, just need to watch how things progress now, will keep you all posted!

brid kenny

6th August 2007, 11:34 PM

That's great news !!

*Pauline*

7th August 2007, 12:41 AM

Sorry I missed this thread. Dylan's girl friend Toto had an ulcer recently. Poor thing had an operation just before we went on holiday, we were really worried. It healed very well but was cloudy for quite some time. The shine is back now and it is just a little cloudy now but only because I look very carefully. Your Princess' ulcer was much worse so expect it to take a few weeks to look normal again. A big :hug: for you both.

Cathy Moon

8th August 2007, 12:42 AM

So glad she's improving. :xfngr: :xfngr::paw::paw::paw: All our fingers and paws are crossed for her!

Cleo's Person

8th August 2007, 09:47 AM

How's Princess doing now?

Cathryn

8th August 2007, 12:29 PM

Hi!

so far so good, we have dropped the drops to 4 times a day and her eye is certainly far less red and milky so :xfngr: that we are finally making some headway, we go back to see Ian on the 14th unless things go downhill in the meantime!!

Cleo's Person

8th August 2007, 12:31 PM

Cathryn, thats great news! :xfngr: it keeps getting better.

Rj Mac

8th August 2007, 01:02 PM

Glad to hear it seems to be improving, :xfngr: it keeps getting better for Princess :hug: